Chair for frog and switch guard-rails.



A. G. LIEBMANN.

CHAIR FOR FROG AND SWITCH GUARD RAILS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1913.

1 126,530, Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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A. G. LIEBMANN. CHAIR FOR FROG AND SWITCH GUARD RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1913.

Patented J an. 26, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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run STATEEATENT curios.

AUGUST G. LIEIB'MANN, 0F BUTTE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR T0 VIGNOLES RAIL CHAIR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CHAIR FOR FROG AND SWITCH GUARD-RAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1915.

Application filed August 27, 1913. Serial No. 787,009.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUs'r G. LIEBMANN, citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silverbow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs for Frog and Switch Guard-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway track appliance and particularly to rail chairs.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a rail chair particularly adapted for holding supporting rails at frogs and switches.

The general stability of American track structure is below that of the actual requirements for heavy high speed trafiic and with the decreasing supply of hard woods it is becoming more and more necessary to use a system of conservation of the forest resources in order that the supply of timber be not wasted. That railways in general have failed to adopt steel ties in preference to wood ties for general use, may be ascribed to various causes, among others to the fact that no proper fastening has thus far been devised by which the rails may be properly and securely held upon ties.

The object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a rail chair and fastening which is adapted to be used with ties of any mate rial and to provide some mechanical means for preventing the wearing of wood ties by improper cut and driven spike fastenings.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chair peculiarly adapted to frog rails and switch guard rails which not only makes possible the adjustment of track under all conditions with nondisturbance of the tie and nondisturbance of the primary fastening, but which also provides for the adjustment, both laterally and vertically, of frogs, switches, and crossings of railways at grade, as well as ordinary line of track on curves and tangents.

A further object is the provision of a chair constructed so that a single rail or a plurality of rails may be fastened to and braced upon the chair.

A further object is the provision of a very simple, relatively cheap, and effective rail chair adapted for the purposes above described, in which the rails, whether guard rails or line rails, will be supported against vertical and lateral thrust and against tipping thrust.

A further object of the invention is the provision in connection with a chair of the type described, of means whereby shims may be disposed between the rail and the bed plate of the chair, and a still further object is to provide a rail chair so constructed that lateral adjustment of the rail or rails supported on said chair may be readily made.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan View of a switch frog with the improved chair in place thereunder. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a crossing frog having the improved rail chair attached thereto. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the improved rail chair. Fig. A is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on the same line as Fig. 5 but showing an auxiliary shimming boss or member disposed between the base plate and the rail brace. Fig. 7 is a 1perspective view of the auxiliary shimming oss.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 6 of the drawings, A designates a tie, which is illustrated as an ordinary wood tie.

B designates the rail. The rail is illustrated as extending at right angles to the tie for the sake of clearness and not as extending at an obtuse angle to the tie as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Mounted upon the tie A is a base plate 2 which is preferably made of a malleable steel casting. The base plate is formed with a longitudinal slot 3 along its middle and with side and end portions at so as to support the base plate upon the upper surface of the tie A as illustrated in Fig. 5. The slot 3 is closed at its ends as shown in Fig. 5, and the side and end walls of the slot at the lower surface of the plate are countersunk or enlarged laterally to permit the insertion of bolt heads. The upper face of the base plate is transversely grooved as at 5, to form in effect intermediate depressed abutments, these grooves being closed at their ends; that is, the grooves terminate short of the side edges of the base plate and intersect the slot 3. The grooves extend parallel to each other and are disposed entirely along the length of the base plate at uniformly spaced intervals but do not pierce the base plate. The rail 13 is held upon the base plate by means of rail braces 6. Each brace has a body portion 7 the under face of which is formed with transversely extending tongues or teeth 8 adapted to bear against the adjacent abutments formed by said grooves. Preferably there are a plurality of these tongues 8 so as to secure a firm engagement between the basal portion 7 of each rail brace and the base plate 2. Each rail brace 6 extends upwardly and inwardly and the upper end fits beneath the head of the rail, as shown in Fig. 5, while the lower portion of the body of the brace fits over the margin of the base flange of the rail. Thus the rail is held from lateral movement by engagement with the basal portion of the rail brace, is held from any upward movement by the rail brace engaging over the base flange of the rail, and is held from any tipping movement by the upwardly and inwardly extending portion 6. Tipping thrust of the rail will, therefore, be translated into a down ward thrust upon the chair.

The basal portion of each rail brace is perforated for the passage of a bolt 9, this bolt passing downwardly through the slot 3 and having a head 10 larger than the width of the throat of the slot and fitting within the countersunk or enlarged portion thereof. The upper end of each bolt 9 is screw threaded for engagement with a nut 11. Interposed between each nut 11 and the upper face of the adjacent basal portion 7 is a washer 12. The base plate is held upon the tie preferably by means of screw spikes 13 which pass downwardly through countersunk enlargements 1% formed at the ends of certain of the grooves 5, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 3.

With the parts as heretofore described, the rail rests directly upon the upper face of the base plate as do the basal portions of the rail braces. The rail may be laterally adjusted by shifting the rail braces laterally and then clamping them in their shifted positions. A slight amount of shimming may be permitted by loosening the nuts 11 and inserting shims beneath the rail but this shimming is relatively slight. In order to permit the rail to be elevated to a maximum degree an auxiliary shimming boss or filler plate designated 15 is provided. This plate is provided with spaced transverse tongues 16 upon its upper face, which are engageable in the grooves formed between the tongues 8 of the basal portion of the rail brace, and the under face of the boss 15 is provided with downwardly extending spaced tongues 17 adapted to engage in the transverse grooves 5 of the base plate. The outer end of each boss is formed with an upwardly extending flange 18 against which the outside edge of the rail brace abuts. The boss 15 is, of course, slotted for the passage of the bolt 9.

WV hen it is desired to elevate the rail a maximum degree a shim 19 is placed between the base of the rail and the upper face of the base plate 2 and the auxiliary shimming bosses 15 are disposed between the basal portions of the rail braces and the upper face of the base plate. As the tongues in the shimming bosses correspond with the grooves in the wearplate or base plate 2, the shimming bosses are held securely between the rail braces and the base plate and serve to reinforce the rail braces when the rail is held in shimmed positions.

It will be seen that the construction shown in Fig. 3 provides for a minimum of vertical adjustment and a maximum of lateral adjustment while the construction shown in Fig. 6 permits a shimming boss and shim 19 to be inserted during abnormal heaving of the track.

The particular advantage of this chair is that it may be used for holding rails singly or switch frogs or crossing frogs, or wherever there are a plurality of rails designed to be held in proper alinement and surface. As illustrated in F igs. 1 and 2, two or more rail braces may be used with each base plate 2, thus for example, referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that at the tongue of the frog four braces are used, at the throat two braces are used, the flangeway at the throat of the frog having a metal filling. Between the tongue and heel of the frog, six braces can be used, if the frog is a rigid frog, and if the frog is a spring frog, four braces may be used at the heel, and at the bearing between the heel and tongue two braces can be used to carry rails. It is to be understood, however, that any number of braces may be used as is necessary with one base plate. In Fig. 2 is shown the application of this fastening to a crossing frog where one set of rails intersect the other at an angle.

It will be noted that the improved fastening provides for rapid, easy and secure realinement of frogs and rails and provides for easy elevation of the frogs and rails without any disturbance of the fastenings that secure the wear plate or base plate to the tie, sleeper or superstructure.

While the rail chair is illustrated as applied to frogs or switches, it will be understood that the chair may be also used for other purposes and that it may be used with any desired form of tie. It may be pointed out also in this connection that this chair provides for an extended bearing surface upon the tie and that inasmuch as the primary fastenings do not have to be removed, the tie may be made of concrete or metal or of treated wood. The objection to concrete, metal and treated wood ties is that once the fastening has been applied, the rail cannot be shifted. It is true that a rail can be shifted upon treated wood ties but this, under present circumstances, necessitates respiking and the life of a tie which has been respiked and the fibers of which have been crushed by contact with the rail, is so short as to make treating of the ties an economically impractical matter, and it is of paramount importance that the head of the bolt, as well as the nut, must be easy of access, hence this form of rail chair.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A rail-chair comprising a base-plate having transversely extending grooves, a laterally and vertically adjustable rail clamping member having an upwardly and inwardly inclined rail-engaging portion to engage beneath the head of a rail, and a basal portion engaging over the base of the rail and over said base-plate, said basal portion on its face having transversely extending tongues adapted to engage with said grooves, and means for holding the rail brace in engagement with the base-plate.

2. A rail chair comprising a base plate having downwardly extending marginal walls, the base plate being longitudinally slotted and formed upon its upper face with transversely extending grooves, rail braces each having a downwardly and outwardly extending portion and a basal portion, the basal portion upon its under face being formed with tongues engaging said grooves, and fastening devices passing through the basal portion of each brace, and through the slot of the base plate.

8. A rail chair comprising a base plate having marginal depending walls, the base plate being longitudinally slotted and formed upon its upper face with transversely extending grooves, the grooves extending parallel to each other approximately the entire length of the base plate, rail braces each consisting of a downwardly and outwardly extending portion adapted to engage beneath the head and over the base flange of a rail, each rail brace having a basal portion at its lower end the under face of which is formed with a plurality of transverse tongues, bolts passing up through the slot of the base plate and through the basal portion of the corresponding rail brace, each bolt having a head on its lower end wider than the slot of the base plate, and a nut engaging the upper end of each bolt.

4. A rail chair comprising a base plate having transversely extending grooves upon its upper face, rail braces each having a basal portion formed upon its under side with tongues, shimming bosses disposed between the basal portions of the rail braces and the base plate, the under face of each shimming boss being formed with tongues engaging with the grooves of the base plate and its upper face being formed with grooves engageable with the tongues of the adjacent rail brace, and means for clamping the rail braces, the shimming bosses and the base plate together in adjusted position.

5. A rail chair comprising a base plate having transversely extending grooves upon its upper face, rail braces each having a basal portion formed upon its under face with transversely extending tongues, shimming bosses disposed between the basal por tions of the rail braces and the base plate, the under face of each shimming boss being formed with transversely extending tongues engaging with the grooves of the base plate and its upper face being formed with transversely extending grooves engageable with the tongues of the adjacent rail brace, and bolts passing through the base plate, the shimming bosses and the rail braces.

6. A rail chair comprising a base plate having marginal walls depending below the general level of the base plate, the base plate being longitudinally slotted and the upper face of the plate being formed with a series of transversely extending grooves, said grooves extending from one end of the base plate to the other, and a plurality of pairs of rail braces disposed upon the upper face of the base plate, each rail brace having transversely extending tongues adapted to engage with the grooves of the base plate, and fastening means passing through each rail brace and into the slot of the base plate and engaging with the under side of said base plate.

7. The combination with a tie and a plu-- rality of rails thereon, of a base plate disposed upon said tie and having a series of transversely extending grooves upon its upper face, said series extending from end to end of the base plate, the base-plate being longitudinally slotted, a plurality of pairs of rail braces, a pair for each rail, each of said rail braces bearing against the lower face of the head of the adjacent rail and having a basal portion formed with transversely extending tongues upon its under face adapted to engage in the grooves of the base plate, and fastening devices passing through the base portion of each rail brace, through the slot of the base plate and engaging against the under side thereof.

8. The combination with a tie and a rail, of a base plate disposed upon the tie and beneath the rail, said base plate being formed with transversely extending grooves upon its upper face, a shim disposed beneath the rail, a rail brace engaging with the rail and having a basal portion, the under face of the basal portion being formed with trans versely extending tongues separated by transversely extending grooves, a shimming boss disposed between the basal portion of the brace and the upper face of the base plate, said boss having transverselyextend= ing grooves upon its upper face adapted to engage the tongues of the rail brace, and transversely extending tongues upon its lower face adapted to engage in the grooves of the base plate, and fastening devices passing through the rail brace, shimming boss and the base plate for holding the parts in locked adjustment.

9. The combination with a rail-chair, of a plurality of rail braces disposed thereon, each independently shiftable with relation to the chair and with relation to any other rail brace, and intermediate members disposed one beneath each rail brace having interlocking engagement with the rail brace and with the chair, and means for independently locking each of said rail braces and its intermediate member in its adjusted position upon the chair.

10. A rail-chair comprising a base-plate formed with depending supporting walls, the base-plate being longitudinally slotted, said slot extending entirely through the plate, the upper face of the base-plate on each side of the slot being formed with transversely extending grooves opening at their inner ends into said slot, a rail-brace having depending tongues engaging in said grooves, and means passing through the rail brace and through the slot of the base-plate for holding the rail brace in engagement with said base-plate.

11. A rail chair, a plurality of rail braces disposed thereon each independently shiftable with relation to the chair and with relation to any other rail brace, means for independently locking each rail brace in its adjusted position, and means for supporting each rail brace in elevated position independent of any other rail brace.

12. The combination with a tie, of a base plate permanently attached to the tie, a rail adjustable laterally and vertically with respect to the base plate, and rail engaging members bearing against the lower face of the head of the rail and having interlocking engagement with the base plate.

' 13. The combination with a tie, of a base plate permanently secured to the tie, a rail adjustable laterally and vertically with respect to the base plate, clamping members bearing against the rail and having interlocking engagement with the base plate, and fastening devices extending through the clamping members and said base plate.

14. A rail chair including a base plate having depressed abutments, rail engaging members having their lower ends provided with depending tongues for engagement with the abutments, and their upper ends provided with means for engagement with the head of a rail, and fastening devices piercing the lower ends of the rail engaging members and said base plate.

15. A rail chair including a base plate provided with depressed abutments, means for permanently securing the base plate to a tie, rail engaging members adjustable laterally and vertically with respect to the base plate and adapted to engage the abutments, and means piercing the rail engaging members and base plate for holding said rail engaging members in different positions of adjustment.

16. A rail chair including a base plate having means for permanent attachment to a tie and provided with a longitudinal slot, there being transverse grooves formed in the upper surface of the base plate and communicating with said slot, said grooves defining intermediate abutments, laterally and vertically adjustable rail clamping members having depending tongues fitting in the grooves and bearing against the adjacent abutments, and means piercing the rail clamping members and extending through the slot in the base plate for holding said rail clamping members in different positions of adjustment.

17. A rail chair including a base plate provided with depressed abutments, means for permanently securing the base plate to a sub-structure, and rail braces adjustable laterally and vertically on the base plate whereby switches and crossing frogs may be held in different positions of adjustment without disturbing the base plate or its securing means.

18. A rail chair including a base plate having a longitudinal slot opening through the top and bottom thereof, there being transverse grooves formed in the upper surface of the base plate and having their inner ends communicating with the slot and their outer ends terminating short of the adjacent edges of the base plate to form stops, a laterally and vertically adjustable rail brace having depending tongues fitting in the grooves, and means piercing the rail brace and extending through the slot in the base plate for holding the rail brace in adjusted position.

19. A rail chair including a base plate having a longitudinal slot at its center, the side and end Walls of the slot at the lower surface of the plate being enlarged laterally to accommodate a bolt head there being grooves formed in the upper surface of the base plate and disposed at right angles to and communicating With said slot, rail braces having means fitting Within the 10 grooves, and bolts engaging the rail braces and having heads fitting within the enlarged portion of the slot for holding said rail braces in adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

AUGUST e. LIEBMANN. [n 8.]

Witnesses:

J. D. loAKLEY, FREDERIO B. WVRIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G. 

